Resolutions
by readingandstuff
Summary: It's New Year's Eve and Danny is very prideful about his resolutions.


**A little late but I still wanted to post my New Year's story. I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

Danny wiped the blood away from his mouth before he forced himself to stand up. _This is so not how I thought this day was going to go_ , he thought to himself. With his remaining energy, he ignored the shooting pain in his side and shot an ectoblast, hitting Spectra square in the chest, causing her to fall on her back. Danny flew right to her, thermos in hand, and pointed it at Spectra.

"What now? You'll trap me in your little thermos and the battle is won?"

Danny shrugged nonchalantly and cocked his head to the side.

"Yeah, pretty much"

"It's not over, halfa. If it's not me, it's someone else. Let me remind you, you are not strong enough for all of us and it's only a matter of time before somebody comes and takes you down. Or someone you love" Spectra taunted.

"Oh, shut _up_ ", Danny rolled his eyes, "You are _so_ ruining this day for me"

A strong beam of light emerged from the thermos until it entrapped Spectra. Danny capped the lid on the thermos and he fell to his knees, gritting his teeth and avoided breathing too heavily. He knew he probably got cuts and bruises everywhere but the stabbing pain on his side, right under his rib, is the one that got most of his attention. He looked down and repressed a gasp that erupted from his throat when he saw the green blood gushing out.

"This is _so_ not ideal" he was barely able to murmur as he used his hand to put pressure on his open wound. He looked up and he saw the sun had started to set. He couldn't be late- Sam would kill him. He used his available hand to try to stand but any move he made caused the stabbing pain on his side increase and he swore he saw stars. He released his efforts and decided to stay put, as he went over his options.

He knew his healing abilities would kick in but he figured it would take at least an hour before he could even stand on his own, let alone walk. He could call his friends or Jazz but he didn't want to worry them, today of all days. And he definitely couldn't call his parents for obvious reasons.

He looked down at his side and saw the bleeding had slowed down but his vision was becoming blurry and his mouth tasted like old pennies. Against his judgement, he lowered his hand to his pocket and began scavenging. He panicked when he couldn't find his phone but when everything started moving beneath him and he began seeing dark spots in his vision, he couldn't focus on the missing phone. _Guess I'm doing this one on my own._ Slowly and carefully, he lowered his back down to the grass and he stared up at the setting sky, trying to get his vision to focus on the clouds and not the feeling of his trembling hands.

He watched as the sky got darker, or perhaps it was the darkening spots of his vision, and he felt his eyelids get droopy and heavy.

 _A small rest won't hurt_ , was the last thing he thought before everything faded to black.

* * *

 _You're not strong enough._

 _It's only a matter of time before somebody takes you down._

 _Or someone you love._

Danny opened his eyes and he shot up, panting furiously with his heart beating a million miles per minute. He tried catching his breath as he surveyed his surroundings but it was completely dark with nobody in sight. He took in a deep breath and he felt a small jab in his side. He looked down at his wound that, besides the annoying jab, was almost completely healed, which startled Danny.

 _How long was I out?_

His eyebrows shot up when he heard small _booms_ and he looked up to the sky- fireworks. _Crap._ He stood up quickly, grabbed his thermos, and started flying home.

It was times like these that he wished he had a watch- and his phone. He had no idea what time it was and he didn't even know if they were waiting for him. _They probably are_ , he confirmed, which only made him feel guilty.

 _You're not strong enough._

Danny shook his head furiously, hoping that it would shake Spectra's words away. _Keep it together, Fenton. You know this is what she does_ , he reminded himself.

When he finally got to his house, he flew to his room and transformed to his human counterpart. He checked the time- 10:45. Good, he wasn't _completely_ late. He took a quick look at himself in the mirror; his clothes looked dirty but he didn't look wounded.

He shuffled over to his dresser, pulled out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and changed into it quickly before he went over to his desk and rummaged through the mountain of papers on it. _Good thing my resolution wasn't to be more organized_. Once he found the one he was looking for, he shoved the piece of paper in his pocket and ran out the door.

He quickly skidded to the elevator, pressed the button that led up to the roof. Once he felt he could relax, he leaned against the elevator wall, closed his eyes and sighed in relief.

 _Only a matter of time before somebody takes you down_. Spectra's words taunted Danny as he felt his breaths become shorter and his heart began beating faster. His eyebrows furrowed and he clenched his fists.

 _Get it together,_ he thought to himself with gritted teeth. His muscles tightened to the point where his joints began to hurt.

 _Or someone you love_. He couldn't feel his hands and sweat dripped down his neck. Everything felt tingly, he couldn't stop it. He couldn't-

 _Ding_. His eyes shot up and the elevator doors slid open but he didn't move as he used the breathing exercise Jazz taught him to use when his anxiety came up. _Inhale 1, 2, 3. Exhale 1, 2, 3_. _Inhale 1, 2, 3. Exhale 1, 2, 3_.

Once he felt his joints relax and he evened out his breathing, he stepped out of the elevator and onto the roof. He scanned the room until his eyes fell onto his friends, who were by the snack table with Tucker was stuffing mini quesadillas in his mouth and Sam searching the sky.

"Where's Danny?" he heard Sam worriedly say and he felt a pang in his chest. _I should've called them_.

Tucker shrugged before he stuffed a mini quesadilla in his mouth.

"Last I heard he was-"

"Sorry I'm late!" Danny announced as he ran over to his friends.

"Danny, where were you? Is something wrong? Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Sam asked in rapid fire while searching him, making sure there were no wounds on him. He felt himself relax and he chuckled.

"Sam, I'm fine. Just a run in with Spectra. Got an ectoblast shot in my side but it's okay now. It doesn't even hurt anymore. And I'm sorry I didn't call you, I didn't have my phone" he explained to which Sam released an audible sigh and dropped her shoulders dramatically.

"Okay. That's good. You're okay" she said before she paused and took a good look at him, "You sure you're okay? I mean, I know you're okay but are you _okay_?" She asked carefully and he knew that she wasn't asking about how he felt physically. Sam knew the effect of Spectra had on him and how his encounters with her haunted him for days.

 _Matter of time before they take down someone you love-_ he swallowed those words and gritted his teeth before he plastered on a smile and nodded.

"Yeah. I'm okay"

"Guys are we done talking about ghosts? It's New Year's Eve! Let's celebrate!" Tucker exclaimed to which Sam smiled excitedly and ran over to her book bag.

 _Only a matter of time-_

Danny shook his head, snapping himself out of her spell and he took a look around his surroundings. He was impressed, the usually drabby roof had streamers and balloons and the table that Tucker kept snacking on. The table had four mini quesadillas left, thanks to Tucker, chips, soda, tofu dogs, and popcorn. Danny's mouth began to water and his stomach growled, reminding him that he actually hadn't eaten all day and started scarfing down chips.

"Okay so we all have our list?" Sam announced, revealing her notepad from her book bag. Tucker nodded and pulled out his PDA from his pocket, to which Sam raised an eyebrow before shaking her head disapprovingly.

"Tucker, wasn't your resolution to rely on technology _less_?" She asked mockingly.

"Okay, so I failed one, but I can't say I regret it" he retorted before looking over at Danny.

"You have yours, dude?"

"Yep" he ate the crumbs of chips he attacked before he took out the paper from his pocket and waved it in the air.

"Okay, so what did we get done this year?" Sam started.

"Well, I completed my resolution of asking out every girl in the school" Tucker reported, smiling and feeling prideful.

"Yeah but you didn't get your resolution of actually getting a date" Sam smirked and Tucker shot her a glare.

"Sam, I hope your resolution is to be less of a know-it-all"

"Sorry, Tuck. Not on the list" Sam replied, as she grinned proudly.

Danny smiled and watched his two friends go over the resolutions they completed. This was what he looked forward to- New Years was one of the only holidays he actually enjoyed. He knew it was ridiculous but he quite liked the thought of a clean slate- starting off fresh. Of course, he was aware that the issues he had on December 31st would still remain on the first of January, but at least he had a whole new year to work on them.

"What about you, Danny?" Sam grabbed his attention, "What did you get done this year?"

Tucker threw his head back in laughter.

"Come on, Sam. You're really asking that question?"

"What? I want to know if there was _actually_ something he didn't do this year" Sam raised her hands in defense.

"Sure. So, lemme guess, Danny, you did…. All of them?" Tucker raised an eyebrow in amusement when Danny smiled sheepishly at his two friends and Sam opened her mouth in shock.

"You did not!" Sam accused him jokingly.

"What can I say, I take my resolutions very seriously" And that he did, his resolutions were something he made no joke of. He was aware that most abandoned their goals in a month, but he was not one of them. If he wrote something down on the list, he knew it was going to get completed. The 'don't play video games and do summer reading instead' resolution he did 3 years ago was still spoken of to this day. It was the most boring summer he ever had, and he vowed never to do it again, but he got it done.

Tucker rolled his eyes and snatched the piece of paper from Danny's hands.

"Hey!" Danny protested to which Tucker completely ignored.

"Okay, let's see here," Tucker pondered, "maintain a C average, we already know that's a yes. Learn Spanish? Dude- what? Did you do this?"

"Sí" Danny smiled brilliantly. Tucker dropped his head and looked at Danny incredulously before continuing with the list.

"Learn basic hacking codes? Dude, what?"

"What? It might come in handy with Technus when you're not there" Danny defended himself and Tucker sighed in defeat, giving the piece of paper back to Danny.

"Okay so, time for new resolutions? And same rules as last year?" Sam asked, to which both boys nodded.

"Yes, we don't show or tell each other our goals until the end of next year" Danny confirmed, grabbing the paper and pens that were on the snack table and handed them out to his friends.

Once they each got their paper, they went to different areas of the roof and started writing. Danny counted three minutes before he looked over at his friends. They looked focused and excited about their goals but Danny couldn't bring himself to concentrate and, for some reason, he couldn't find himself to be genuinely excited about the New Year.

 _Only a matter of time before someone takes down somebody you love_.

He silently cursed Spectra out as he repressed the thoughts she had planted in his brain and brought his attention back to his blank paper. He went through his options of what he could do for the New Year. Keep his room clean? No, it seemed redundant. Maintain a B average? Not realistic with his lifestyle.

Danny sighed and he looked his friends once again. Tucker and Sam seemed to have finished writing and were both talking by the snack table again right before Sam took a tofu dog and shoved it in Tucker's mouth, erupting in laughter on Sam's part. Tucker spat out the tofu dog, looking as if he was ready to throw up until his demeanor changed, and surprise was written all over it. He looked back to the snack table, took another tofu dog, held it up to the skies as if thanking the heavens, and ate the entire tofu dog in four bites. Danny chuckled at his two friends it caught Sam's attention.

"Danny? Are you done?" she asked. His eyebrows shot up and he turned back around to his paper.

"Uh- yeah yeah almost. Just gimme a second" he stared back at his paper furiously, tapping his pen to his lips nervously.

 _Only a matter of time before somebody takes you down. Or somebody you love._

Danny closed his eyes and took in a deep breath as he chewed on his bottom lip. _Inhale 1, 2, 3. Exhale 1, 2, 3_. He pursed his lips, getting frustrated that a couple of words from Spectra has screwed him up so much.

But what if she was right? What if he simply wasn't strong enough to protect his friends and family? What if the end is inevitable?

 _No_ , he snapped. He had only been ghost hunting a year and he already _was_ getting stronger. He had defeated his older, stronger and definitely scarier self. _And_ he was only fifteen. He just needed time. With practice and time, he knew he would get stronger and really hone in on his skills. He _was_ strong enough and he was _damn_ sure he wasn't going to let Spectra be right.

Suddenly, it all clicked and he started writing on his blank piece of paper.

"Danny, you done, bro?!" He heard Tucker exclaim.

"Yeah yeah- I'm coming!" he reported back. Once he finished writing, he folded it down, put it in his pocket, and ran back to his friends.

"Dude, what took you so long?" Tucker asked with a tofu dog in his mouth and Danny merely shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"So many resolutions, so little time" he smirked and Tucker rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. Sam smiled at her two friends before she announced that she was going to get her camera.

Tucker looked at Danny and elbowed him gently.

"So, between you and me, what did you write?" Danny slightly widened his eyes and cleared his throat nervously.

"What-We're- uh- not supposed to tell each other" he fidgeted, rubbing the back of his neck. Tucker took a good look at his best friend before a look of understanding wash over his face.

"Ohhhhh I get it- you're gonna try to get the chops to finally ask Sam out this year!" he exclaimed excitedly. Danny looked away from Tucker and chuckled nervously.

"Heh. You got me, Tuck. That's it."

"Ha! I knew it!" he threw his fist in the air in a celebratory manner.

Danny couldn't bring himself to tell Tucker the truth about his actual resolution. He didn't know if he found it to be embarrassing or if it just wasn't the kind of conversation one should have while celebrating new beginnings.

The night went on and the piece of paper felt like a million bricks in his pocket. It was burning in his mind more than Spectra's words did earlier in the evening. Eventually, he excused himself, headed to his room, and sat on his bed.

He pulled out his paper and read the words he wrote. The words seemed simple enough but they carried a lot of weight, almost too much for Danny to handle. No matter, he knew it was his responsibility to commit. His resolutions are absolute and he knew that. Everybody knew that. He took one last look at his piece of paper containing those five important words before he laid it down on his desk and headed back up to the roof.

 _Keep everyone safe and alive._

It was the first resolution he wasn't able to keep.

* * *

 **Ahhh I'm sorry! Don't hate me! I kept this pretty open ended so you can make your ending whatever you would like :D Please review and let me know what you thought, I would really appreciate it!**

 **Thank you all!**

 **-reading and stuff**


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